Barriers, Facilitating Factors, and Intersectoral Collaboration for Promoting Active Mobility for Healthy Aging—A Qualitative Study within Local Government in Germany

Tanja Brüchert, Paula Quentin, Sabine Baumgart and Gabriele Bolte
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Tanja Brüchert: Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, Department of Social Epidemiology, University of Bremen, Grazer Str. 4, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Paula Quentin: Faculty of Spatial Planning, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, TU Dortmund University, August-Schmidt-Straße 10, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
Sabine Baumgart: Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, Department of Social Epidemiology, University of Bremen, Grazer Str. 4, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Gabriele Bolte: Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, Department of Social Epidemiology, University of Bremen, Grazer Str. 4, 28359 Bremen, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: The promotion of walking and cycling to stay active and mobile offers great potential for healthy aging. Intersectoral collaboration for age-friendly urban planning is required in local government to realize this potential. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the heads of planning and public health departments in city and district administrations of a Metropolitan Region in Germany to identify factors influencing action on the cross-cutting issue of active mobility for healthy aging. Although some administrations are working on the promotion of active mobility, they consider neither the needs of older people nor health effects. A lack of human resources and expertise, mainly due to the low priority placed on the issue, are described as the main barriers for further strategic collaboration. Furthermore, the public health sector often focuses on pathogens as the cause of morbidity and mortality, reducing their acceptance of responsibility for the topic. Facilitating factors include the establishment of new administrative structures, projects with rapid results that create awareness and credibility among citizens and politicians, additional staff with expertise in health promotion, and political commitment. In the future, new administrative structures for intersectoral collaboration are needed in order to consider various perspectives in complex developments, such as healthy aging, and to benefit from synergies.

Keywords: active mobility; age-friendly environment; healthy aging; intersectoral collaboration; local government (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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